Ranching in Wyoming

I grew up going to "The Ranch" every Memorial and Labor Day for as long as I can remember. Since we moved to Houston, I hadn't been since Rhett was 8 months old! I missed it so much!

Mitch had Friday and Saturday off- a "golden weekend" in residency terms- normal life for most other folks, so we left Friday morning right after Mitch had worked a long night shift. I drove, don't worry. The whole drive up, I had so many memories of the ranch flooding back to me and I realized how much I had missed it! It's so fun for kids to have a place that's familiar but so different from every day life. At the ranch, the closest neighbors are cows, the loudest noises are crickets and coyotes, the brightest lights are the stars, and the biggest worry is not having enough time at the ranch. Heaven!

We were the first ones up there and had the place to ourselves. It was unusually green up there because of all the rain and everything was beautiful!

 

We got there just in time to see a shipment of cattle unloading.

There were lots of manly father-son moments too- Rhett learned how to pee off a fence- thanks Mitch. Rhett now knows he does not need a potty to go. Rhett was loving all his daddy time, especially after three crazy months in a row not seeing him much.

 

 

Good old Fatcats. Been running forever. 

 
Mitch drove Rhett through the biggest mud puddle they could find and both were soaked head to toe. By the end of the first day, Rhett had already been through three changes of clothes.

 We even got to go see the barn owls, at least a dozen times. Rhett is obsessed with owls. He loved looking for their feathers too.

Ruby was loving the great outdoors too. She loved all the dogs running around that our cousins had brought, she loved the horses, being outside, and lots of time all together.

I have a picture of me just a little bit older in this exact same chair in the same spot. Not sure if that's a good thing. 

 

She wasn't loving this though...

Minds and I left the kids with the boys one morning and ran up to beautiful Fremont Lake. I love having a running buddy. And such a beautiful place to run. Mitch had to leave Saturday night so he could make it to work early Sunday morning, but we got to stay till Monday.

 

The Varners brought their horses up and were nice enough to let us ride them too. Rhett can't get enough of riding horses. I have to beg him to get down. 

Here he is on his third horse ride. Bomps is one good looking cowboy too.

 

Nana bought all the little boys pop guns and they were a hit. It is little boy heaven up there with all the cousins around, mud, guns, bow and arrows, 4-wheelers, and lots and lots of wide open space.

 Till next time Wyoming...

Ruby Jane at 7 months

  

Ruby is definitely the second child. Rhett had a post every month about what he was up to. I'm just getting around to posting about Ruby after half a year has gone by! I guess I'm trying to soak in every minute I have of her as a baby since I know how fast it will go this time. And it goes even faster the second time!

Ruby is the sweetest baby girl! I remember sitting in the Celestial Room with Mitch right before she was born and had a distinct feeling of how special and sweet and strong she would be. I'm only seeing the beginning of that. She is always so happy! Her huge smile is contagious and makes me just melt.

Some of the things she loves right now:

-Dolls and stuffed animals. As soon as she wakes up from a nap, she reaches for me and then for the first baby or animal she sees. She gives it the biggest hug and then snuggles it till she finds something else she wants to play with.

-Baths! She is THE wiggliest baby I have ever held, especially when I turn on the bath and try to get her undressed to get in. She cannot wait to get in and tries to jump out of my arms into the bath. She splashes, kicks, sticks her head under the faucet and loves when she gets to go in with Rhett.

-Rhett! Those two are such a pair. Rhett can't wait for her to wake up! I have to beg him not to go in and wake her up. Rhett runs in there as soon as he hears her cry and says "mom Ruby's awake, Ruby's awake. Come see her!" I pick Ruby up and he says "Look there's Rhett." Ruby kicks her little legs so fast whenever she sees him coming. And anytime I say "you ready for a nap Rubs?" he says, "nope she's not ready for a nap." He is the sweetest brother to her. If she's crying in her carseat, he'll say "it's ok Ruby I'm here, I'm here, or we're almost home Ruby." He loves to feed her little tiny pieces of his eggs for breakfast and laughs so hard when she doesn't like something and does a funny face. "She doesn't like it." (in his lowest, slowest growl voice) They both can definitely bug each other too. He gets in her face all day, shakes her arms, and steals her (his) toys. But at night, he always wants her to come lay in his bed while we tell stories and sing songs and gets so sad when she's too tired to do that. He says "I need a kiss. I need a squishy hug. How bout bones? High fives? Another kiss." One of the best things about being a mom is watching them laugh together.

 

-Solids. She was slow to start, but she is a big fan now! She loves things with more texture like cottage cheese and especially loves ice cream! Of course. And paper, she loves paper and would eat a lot of it I would let her. I once found the bottom little piece of a price tag in her diaper. Whoops!

-Her mama. She is a big mama's girl which makes me happy. She thinks it's so funny when she puts the binky in my mouth. She loves playing with my hair, helping me do my make up, and helping me make the bed.

 

-She loves when Daddy gets home and loves when he plays with her and throws her around. But when it's bedtime or nap time, she wants me! Or if I walk out of the room, she wants me. Maybe Mitch is at work too much?? I know she will be a daddy's girl soon enough so I will take it for now.

-Balls, bats, and cars. She loves anything Rhett loves which means lots of boy stuff. She'll be tough! Look out for this slugger. She also loves paper and tags. Everytime she comes to get the mail with me, she gets so excited to play with all the letters and magazines. She could play with a kleenex box for an hour. She looks for the tag on everything- blankets, clothes, dolls, and then loves to play with them.

Ruby wants to move so bad! She is constantly kicking one leg whenever she sits in the bumbo so that there's a constant tapping going on. I didn't know babies could get out of the Bumbo but she somehow found a way to arch her back and twist and can get out in no time now. So no more Bumbo on top of the table while I do the dishes or cook!

Having a girl has been so much fun! I didn't realize how much I could love another baby after Rhett, until I laid eyes on my Ruby Jane. She is a dream. We love you Ruby Jane!